ATI vs. nVidia for HD HTPC

[robind]

Hi all,

I'm a long time SageTV user, I think I started back in the 1.x or 2.x days. I've got a server that I built up over time for recording SD that has worked well for me. I've used it both for viewing on the server and also with an extender, placeshifter and for a while with SageClient.

I am finally taking the next step and am building a new HTPC with HD capabilities that I will be using to drive my 1080p HDTV. I'm nearly finished with it except for deciding on the PCIe video card that I will put in it, and I'd like to see some opinions from folks who have been through this already about which GPUs and which manufacturers are good for this kind of rig. I've been an nVidia fan for a long time but I'm willing to use an ATI card in this rig if it will be more likely to do a better job at 1080i/p without skipping, pausing, jerking or tearing, (which is what the cheapo card I am using while in test mode is doing (slightly) with 1080i video recordings.)

I would prefer a fanless card as the system is currently whisper quiet. (Standing next to the PC I can hear the refrigerator in the next room better than the PC.) There is good airflow so a card with a heat sink on the GPU should do okay. I would also prefer a card with an HDMI port with audio, but I can live without that.

So guys, what cards have you had good results with? What would you recommend as the minimum GPU series to go with? (For example, ATI 46xx, nVidia 9500, etc.)

[SWKerr]

I would not settle for anything less than an HDMI connection that supports audio.

I have used the ATI 780G motherboards and an ATI 3450 card and have been happy with both. I do run Sage in Overlay because I get some tearing with the other options. Vista and XP seem to produce the same general results.

The ATI 780G motherboard with a AMD X2 cpu is the best deal going for a Client HTPC. Cheap to build and runs quite and is powerful enough to run 1080 BluRays.

I have a two 8500 nVidia cards now that don't have audio but have not used them in awhile so won't comment on their performance. the issue I originally had that drove the switch was that nVidia took forever to add overscan options to their Vista drivers. (Since fixed.) The video quality was fine.

[panteragstk]

I also use an ati 3450 on overlay with no issues. EVR in XP works for me, but disables hardware decoding of vc-1 and .h264 video. VC-1 is kind of odd in the fact that sage doesn't like any of the good codecs for vc-1. The nvidia cards don't support vc-1 deciding so it would kinda work the same way as an ati card. I've read the nvidia cards have fewer problems with vrm9 than the ati versions.

Edit: I forgot to mention that most reviews I've read like the ati image quality over nvidia. I've used both and prefer ati. To each his own though.

[S_M_E]

I've had more problems with ATI cards than Nvidia but I finally got EVR and vc-1 files working with my ATI card...

[robind]

Originally Posted by S_M_E

I've had more problems with ATI cards than Nvidia but I finally got EVR and vc-1 files working with my ATI card...

Do you recall what you did to make it work?

[S_M_E]

Originally Posted by robind

Do you recall what you did to make it work?

After a clean install, this is what I installed to get things going for me. While I am using the Sage Client and Vista64, you'll see that SAF is recommended for XP SP3 so it might work for others too...

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

I would not settle for anything less than an HDMI connection that supports audio.

I have used the ATI 780G motherboards and an ATI 3450 card and have been happy with both. I do run Sage in Overlay because I get some tearing with the other options. Vista and XP seem to produce the same general results.

The ATI 780G motherboard with a AMD X2 cpu is the best deal going for a Client HTPC. Cheap to build and runs quite and is powerful enough to run 1080 BluRays.

I have a two 8500 nVidia cards now that don't have audio but have not used them in awhile so won't comment on their performance. the issue I originally had that drove the switch was that nVidia took forever to add overscan options to their Vista drivers. (Since fixed.) The video quality was fine.

I am looking at revamping my Sage HTPC due to the purchase of a 1920x1080LCD display and noticed this entry. Can you please tell me:

1.) What processor and video card do you run with this MB?
2.) Is 5.1 audio ouput via the on-board optical connection, or do you need a sound card?
3.) Which tuner (Hauppauge, etc.) are you using?
4.) Are you using any HD capture devices (HD PVR) or HD playback (HD200 - Bluray) and if so, any problems?

thanks